Zambia’s inaugural Green Bond has been successfully listed on the Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) by the Copperbelt Energy Corporation Plc (CEC), marking a significant milestone in sustainable financing for the country. CEC intends to use the finance raised through the green bond to finance renewable energy projects.
Listed last week at US$200 million, the bond will be administered by CEC’s subsidiary, CEC Renewables (CECR). The private power generation company supplies power in Zambia’s Copperbelt region to a clientele of mostly large mining firms.
The initial tranche of bond raised $54 million of the required US$200 million from the lead arrangers, Cygnum Capital and Emerging Africa Investment Fund (EAIF) as cornerstone investors, in partnership with South Africa’s Absa Group.
“We are proud to have been the lead arrangers for CEC’s Green Bond”, Cygnum Capital representative, James Doree said. “It demonstrates how the combination of a strong sponsor, a transparent policy framework and supportive anchor investor can drive private sector solutions to the green energy transition.”
“We are thrilled to be the cornerstone investor to the first Zambian green bond programme,” said Paromita Chatterjee (representative of the Emerging Africa Investment Fund, a Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company).
He added that he is confident that this avenue of financing will complement the traditional financing options to fast-track energy transition.
“Our partnership with the sponsor has made it possible to actualise the ingenious financing,” said Theuns Ehlers, Head of Project Finance at Absa Group. “Having a sponsor with strong operational and financial capabilities has helped the structuring and bankability of a private-to-private project finance bond raise. Therefore, we are very proud to be associated with this transaction.”
Adding to the conversation, the Securities and Exchange Commission Director for Market Supervision and Development, Nonde Sichilima said, “The announcement of the registration of the Green Bond is a positive development for our capital markets. We anticipate that it will catalyse the listing of more green bonds as a means of capital raising for green initiatives and contribute towards deepening capital in our country.”
